Universal hand saw



Mn. i7, i939." P. G. HARDING UNIVERSAL HAND SAW Filed DecL IN1/Emule.PETER 6. HARDJNG A ORNEY,

Patented Jan. 17, 1939 f Nireo STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

' reciprocating guards adapted to protect the saw blades.

An object of my invention is to provide a hand saw having a guard forthe saw blade thereof, the guard being spring tensioned within thehandle and arranged, constructed and adapted to be displaced from itsprotecting position when the saw is brought into operative relation withthe work.

Another object of my invention is to provide a saw of the classdescribed having a saw blade guard which is adapted to be displaced fromits normal blade protecting position by. reciprocating or sliding backand forth along the sides of the saw blade whenever the outer end ofsaid guard is brought into engagement with the surface of the work andthe saw blade brought into operative relation with the work and movedreciprocatively.

Another object of the invention is to provide the saw with a saw bladeguard having a surface plate of novel shape or coniiguration arranged atright angles to the axis of the guard, extending rearwardly or away fromthe toothed cutting edge, providing sliding contact and lateral supportwith the sides of the blade and vertical support with the smooth edge orback of the blade, as the blade is brought into operative relation withthe work and moved reciprocatively, the plate further providing means sothat the line on the work surface can readily be seen at all times.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide means whereby the sawblade can be reversed should it be desirable to have a portion of theguard surface plate extend ahead of the toothed cutting edge of the sawblade.

Another object of the invention is to provide a saw of the classdescribed having a saw blade guard adapted to bear upon and be displacedby the work, the guard comprising an anti-friction device, and furtherequipped with adjustable features relative to the sides and one edge ofthe saw blade so that saw blades of various sizes may be accommodated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hand saw with a sawblade guard of the class described having a strong but light hollowhandle and an axially extended body portion mounted in line with theaxis of the toothed cutting saw blade so that the guard protecting saidsaw blade is supported by and a portion thereof is enclosed thereby,said hollow handle and body extension embodying guard channels orgrooves to enable the saw blade guard to travel back and forth withinsaid hollow handle as the handle is moved toward and the saw bladebrought into operative relation with the work and moved reciprocatively.

Other objects such as simplicity, compactness and ease of operation,together with the foregoing, are attained by the novel construction, 5combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and shown inthe accompanying drawing, forming part hereof and in which:-

Figure 1 is a side view of my improved universal hand saw. 10

Figure 2 is a fragmentary bottom view of my improved hand saw with partsin section for the purpose of clearer illustration.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of my improved hand saw as shown inFigure l. l5

Figure 4 is an end elevation of my improved hand saw.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Figure l, looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of 20 a modied form of myinvention.

Figure 7 is sectional view taken on line 'I-'I of Figure 6, looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout theseveral views. 25

Referring to Figure l, the reference character 5 designates the handle,the body extension of my improved saw being indicated at 6, the sawblade being indicated at 1, the saw blade guard being indicated at 8.30`

The handle 5 and body extensions 6 preferably are composed of two partsor members I0 and II, said members secured to each other by bolts I2,the members IIl and Il being adapted and constructed to form a hollowhandle I4 and chamber 3 I5. Provided in the hollow handle I4 and chamberl5 are channels or grooves I 5 and Il formed in members Ill and Ilrespectively and extending throughout the entire length of both membersIIJ and I I, said grooves I6 and I1 jointly forming 40 guide ways forthe saw blade guard.

Also provided in the hollow handle I4 are channels or grooves I8 and I9formed in members I 0 and I I respectively, parallel with but spaced 90degrees from the grooves I6 and I1 to form jointly 45 a saw blade slotfurther designated as 2D; said slot being substantially the same shapein cross-section but slightly larger than the saw to assist in holdingsaid saw blade in position. Said saw blade being prevented frompenetrating too far into the 50 hollow handle I4 by means of a stop pin2l and being locked in place by set screw 22.

The saw blade guard 8 preferably is composed of one member or one pieceof metal having a longitudinal opening 23 in the enclosed end portion 55thereof designated at 24 and a saw slot or groove 25 in the opposite endportion designated at 26, said end portion 26 terminating in a surfaceplate 21 of novel shape or configuration and arranged at right angles tothe axis of the guard portion 24 and 2li, and extending downwardly oraway from the saw blade 1 forming a closed guard end 28, the surfaceplate 21 forming substantially a U shaped member. The opening 23 and sawslot 25 cause the saw guard to appear as having substantially two arms3D and 3| with bearing surfaces 32 and 33 to give lateral support to thesaw blade, the outer end of the saw blade slot being enlarged as shownat 34, to form the clearance for the cutting edge 1' of said saw blade.The base of said opening as designated at 35 is designed to givevertical support to the smooth edge or back of a saw blade when the sawblade is inverted or arranged so that the cutting edge 1 extends awayfrom said closed end 35 of the surface plate 21.

The surface plate 21 is further provided with a tapped hole 35 toaccommodate auxiliary attachments as will later be explained.

The handle is provided With a pin 31 embodied therein to form a supportor attaching means for one end 33 of a tension spring 39, the oppositeend 4 of said spring 39 being secured to end portion 24 of guide 8, saidspring 39 is normally disposed within the hollow handle I4 but stretchesor extend rearwardly into chamber i5 when the saw blade guard is forcedback into chamber i5 during the operation of said saw. The surface plate21 at the opposite end of the saw guard under said conditions isdisplaced from its normal position as indicated by the dotted lines inFigure 3.

In Figures 6 and '7 I have illustrated a modified type of saw bladedesignated at 42 and secured within the saw blade slot 2U, having itstoothed cutting edge 42 remote from the closed end 28 of saw bladesurface plate 21. The surface plate 21 has a supporting block or member44 adjustably secured thereto by bolt 45 extending through elongatedslot 46 in member 44 and into tapped hole 36 provided for the same, saidmember 44 arranged to supply the desired vertical support to the smoothedge or back of the saw blade 42 as shown.

From the above disclosure one will note that the saw will function asfollowsz-When a cut is to be made by the saw as described, the operatorwill grasp the handle 5 of said saw and position the saw blade guardsurface plate 21 against the work. As the operator presses the sawforward and into contact with the work to produce the desired cut, thesaw blade guard 8 slides automatically rearwardly within the hollowhandle i4 and body extension 5 exposing the blade 1 to the desredextent. As the operator retracts or withdraws the saw blade from thematerial, the saw blade guard 3 will again automatically be forced toits normal position outside the handle and in sliding contact with thesaw blade by the natural action of the tension spring 39 within thehandle. Continued reciprocation of the saw will cause the saw guard toautomatically give lateral support to the sides of the saw blade andvertical support thereto when desired.

Although have described but tWO forms or my invention with considerabledetail and with respect to certain particular adjustable features, I donot desire to be limited to such details since many changes andmodiiications may well be made without departing from the spirit andscope of my invention in its broadest aspect.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:-

In a saw, the combination with a handle having its rear end portionsubstantially hollow and its forward end portion substantially solid,said forward end portion having two longitudinal slots at right anglesto each other, one vertical and one horizontal, the vertical slot havinga cross section substantially the same as that of a saw blade andadapted to receive and secure a saw blade therein, the horizontal slotadapted to receive, and provide a groove for, a reciprocating saw bladeguard, said guard having an aperture therein providing a slot for thepassage of said saw blade and terminating into a surface plate at itsouter end, said plate formed at right angles to the plane of the bodyportion of said guard, a spring member enclosed Within the hollowportion or" said handle, one end of said spring being attached to saidhandle by suitable means and the opposite end of said spring beingattached to the inner end of said guard to cause said guard to be springtensioned.

PETER G. HARDING.

